Elsewhere in Colorado Springs New Year's Day
by FinallyAssimilated
Summary: Paul Davis, Norman Davis and Siler really do exist outside of the base...ever wonder what they do?
1. Default Chapter

Author's Note:  A character study of Major Davis, Siler and the Chevron guy….I hope you like it J

Elsewhere in Colorado Springs on New Year's Day:

As consciousness overtook him, despite his attempts to keep it out via squeezed shut eyes, Paul Davis realized he was not alone.  Slowly, his alcohol ravaged mind tried desperately to piece together the events of the previous night before he actually looked at his bedmate du jour.

Unable to contain his curiosity until he could remember it all, he peeked over at the other person; only allowing himself one eye lest he had not chosen wisely the night before.

He sighed, a sense of relief coming over him at the sight of the lovely, curved figured of the naked young woman.  _Well, that looks good so far,_ he thought to himself, _and she's a redhead,_ he noticed.  _Must have been a good evening,_ he decided.

His attention turned to the state of the rest of his body, which was desperately in need of a big greasy fast food burger to absorb the queasiness he felt.  His head, he decided, was screaming for a little of the hair of the dog, and he got up slowly to procure himself a remedy of that nature.

"Hey," the girl called groggily from the bed.  He looked over at her, wincing as he realized that this incident would negatively impact his career if her true age were ever to be revealed.  _Worth it, though,_ he thought as he looked at her, mentally marking another notch and giving himself a reminder to collect his bet from Siler and Norman regarding the wisdom of wearing dress blues to O'Malley's on New Year's Eve.  It was always a crap-shoot, but it had played in his favor this time.

"Hey," he replied.  He realized he was only in his boxers, and looked around the room for something to put on over them; spotting a pair of sweats discarded by his dresser he began to pull them on.  He wasn't sure what he was going to find in the next room, best to be clothed to some degree; the redhead might have had a friend or four.

"Is there another way out of your place?  I really don't want to waltz by your pals in the other room," she said as she sat up, hair attractively askew.

The sight of her naked in his bed with her voluminous red hair down around her pretty young face prompted his memory; she was an Air Force groupie, as they called them and she'd come over and sat in his lap the night before at O'Malley's.  Siler and Norman had given him grief over it, but they had gone quiet when she gave him the deep-throated kiss at the stroke of midnight.

The memory of Siler and Norman prompted yet another thought; as per the usual New Year's plan, the low sounds of the early bowl game on his big screen television broke into his thoughts.  Norman would already be up watching, he knew, and Siler was probably sacked out in the La Z Boy, alternately trying to sleep and watch the game; Norman's enthusiasm for football would make it difficult not to watch.

"Yeah, I've got a back door; I'll call you a cab," he said.  He had a couple of regulars he knew would be happy to get the fare and he paid them pretty well to make sure the girl got wherever she needed to go.

In his sweats now, he wandered out to the living room.  Sure enough, Siler appeared to be out cold while Norman perched on the edge of the couch.  He picked up the half empty Molson's that was on the end of the table and took a swig.  Warm, yes, but he didn't think the screaming in his head would wait until he could get a cold one from the refrigerator.

"C'mon, stick 'em!" Norman cursed quietly at the offense, trying to respect his friend's attempt-at-sleeping status.

"Hey, did you guys order food yet?  I'm jonesing for a nasty greasy old cheeseburger."

"Nah, it's a good game and I haven't had a chance," Norman said, not looking up from his perch.  They were all good games to him; he'd always wanted to play but never quite had the stature required for it.

Paul went over to the portable phone on top of the table near the kitchen.  Fishing a couple of business cards out of the drawer, he dialed a number.

"Yeah, hey Bill, it's Paul.  Yeah, I've got a fare for you.  Yeah, Bill, same deal as last time.  Oh, you're in the neighborhood?  Figured I'd need it, eh?  Well thanks for the vote of confidence, buddy," Paul said with a laugh into the telephone.  "Yeah, the uniform always does it," he said with a grin, looking over at Norman, who gave him a disgusted look at the reminder of the bet.  "Five minutes?  Great, thanks Bill.  Yeah, back door like before.  Thanks."

Paul scanned the living room for a moment; spying the jacket, purse and boots that could only belong to her, he retrieved them, careful not to move too quickly, nursing his hung over body.

He walked back to the bedroom with her stuff and his half empty warm beer; the girl was up and dressed.  Oh yeah, she had been worth the risk to his career, he decided.  He was beginning to regret the fact that he could hardly remember any of it.  What _was_ her name, anyway?

"Cab's on the way," Paul said, handing her the remainder of her things.

She smiled at him.  "Thanks," she said, taking the beer out of his hand.  She took a swig and made a face.  "Eewww, it's warm," she said, handing the bottle back to him.

The cab pulled up and beeped; she followed Paul out of the bedroom and to the back door, away from the living room.  Paul held the door for her, getting one more brush against her supple young body as she passed him on her way out.  Well, at least that much he'd remember.

Walking her over to the car, he smiled and nodded a greeting at the cabbie Bill.  He opened the door for the girl, smiling at her; she reached up and gave him a passionate kiss, simultaneously giving his privates a quick squeeze.  He was caught off guard by this; she smiled wickedly.

'Thanks for the memories, flyboy," she said, getting into the car.

He handed Bill his usual $50 and wished him a Happy New Year.  He waved at her as the cab pulled away, then went back in to attend to his screaming head.

As he walked back into the house, grabbing a comfy sweatshirt out of the bedroom as he passed it, he saw that Norman's antics had finally eradicated any hope of sleep for Siler.  Siler slid him a look from half closed eyes.

"So, who was she?" Siler asked off handedly, in what he and Norman called his Mock Mother accent.

Paul wandered wordlessly into the kitchen, knowing he wouldn't be able to fend this off too long.  "Either of you two want a beer?" he called as he rummaged in the refrigerator.

"Yes!" came the two voices in unison from the living room.

He opened the three bottles and went back into the living room.  Norman didn't even look up as Paul swung the bottle in front of his face, just grabbed it and took a swig, all without his eyes ever leaving the action on the screen.  Paul smiled a bit; he got a kick out of Norman's obsession with the games.  He handed the other one to Siler.

"Y'know Paul, you should at least remember 'em if you're going to get 'em that good," Siler said with a matter of fact tone to his voice.  He wasn't one to pass judgment on his friend's actions; he simply felt that Major Paul Davis deserved better treatment than he currently allotted himself.

"Yeah, I know," Paul responded with a tone of contrition in his voice.  "But, it's still worth $50 from you two," he said with a half-hearted grin.  He knew this was a shallow victory, but a victory nonetheless.

He picked up the portable telephone and a restaurant delivery menu and slumped on the couch, his body telling him that he had managed all of the movement that he would be allowed today, as retribution for the punishment he'd given his body in the last 18 hours.  He grabbed the bottle of Advil from the coffee table, no doubt placed there by Norman as soon as he woke up, and washed back a couple of the tablets with a swig of the cool amber liquid.

"Hey, what all do you guys want, anyway?" he asked as he scanned the menu, unable to really focus.

There was a commercial on now; Norman turned his attention to his friends and the task at hand.  "Just get a couple of loaded pizzas, that'll hold everything down," he said knowingly, his red, watery eyes an indicator of the amount he himself had consumed the night before.

Siler looked at them both through his half open eyes, his own body rebelliously not willing to allow more movement than that today.  "Yeah, what he said," he muttered in agreement.

Paul perused the menu, then dialed the number, silently thankful for take out restaurants.  He placed the order with the tired sounding voice on the other end, and clicked the phone off, relaxing back against the comfortable leather sofa he had purchased for the living room.  Now he could assuage his poor brain with the mindless numbing of the bowl games.

To an outsider, this might have seemed a strange scene, he, an officer, and a fairly senior one at that, with Washington connections that went deep, hanging out with two enlisted men from Cheyenne Mountain.

But, this discrepancy had never really occurred to Paul Davis when it came to Siler and Norman; at the end of the day, they were _all_ serving their country, weren't they?  Putting their lives on the line for the rest of the country – hell, in this program, wasn't it really for the rest of the world?

Paul had seen these two men calmly obeying orders in situations that would have literally scared the shit out of some of the Washingtonites he knew; these two had simply chalked it up to another day's work.

This created a mental conundrum for Paul; as long as he'd known the two of them, he continually found himself surprised that they had not progressed in their respective military careers, but then, he knew them well enough to know that they were content with simply being background people, letting the SG teams take all the glory.

Compared with his own ambition and that of the majority of people he interacted with on a daily basis in Washington, he found this quite honorable, in fact, it seemed almost _more_ patriotic, to be content to simply do one's job, as dangerous as it could be, to ensure that others could do theirs.

He'd experienced plenty of high-level military society goings on back in Washington, too, along with his fair share of beautiful Washington ladies; they couldn't compare with the sincerity of the more casual, straightforward folks from this assignment, he had decided.

An image of a certain blond operative threatened to invade his consciousness then; he shoved it away with another swig on his beer.  They were both better off now, he reminded himself, but the fact that this would have been their tenth wedding anniversary refused to be completely banished from his brain, followed inevitably by the fading memory of the pain that he'd felt when she'd fallen for her partner on her last assignment, forsaking him and their New Year's Day wedding plans.

The distance from Washington had helped, time at the SGC had not – women like Samantha Carter and Jennifer Hailey were everything she had been and more; they were unfortunate reminders of what could have been between them.  But these were simply difficult facts of his current assignment that needed to be reconciled – sometimes on a daily basis he realized with an inward grimace.  Lieutenant Grogan's declaration by way of his girlfriend that there was something going on between Hailey and the archeologist, and Sam's obvious allegiance to Colonel O'Neill, military and otherwise, made it much easier to push the ponderings away.

As this whole thought pattern wandered aimlessly across the few active cells available in his brain this day, it resurrected memories from the previous night.

"Hey, whaddya suppose Carter and O'Neill were doing in there last night?  They left in a big fat hurry, before midnight – ya think they were headed for the horizontal bop?"

"Well, by the looks of Colonel O'Neill, there wasn't much in the way of _that_ happening last night," Norman said with a chuckle.  "He was three sheets to the wind; it was all Carter could do to carry him out of there," he added.

Siler sat up, gingerly.  "Hey, it's not like that with them – at least in public.  He's a stand up guy; I think he was really sick.  She looked worried about him; I overheard her on the cell phone talking to the doc about it."

"Yeah, that's true," Norman conceded in a distant voice, not looking at his roommates.  The action on the screen was heating up again.

"DOH!!  What were you thinking!" he yelled, as he anguishedly watched his favorite team of the day fumble the ball on the 10 yard line on fourth down, resulting in a turnover for the other team.

Paul again found himself amused at his antics.  He glanced over at Siler, who was half smiling, too.  Times like this made him grateful for the arrangement with these two guys.

As his time with the SGC had increased, Paul had known he needed a local place, and when Siler's wife had left him, taking their teenage son with her, leaving him with the excruciating task of selling the house, Paul deemed it only logical to buy it from him.

Even though the house was full of memories – or perhaps for that reason, Siler had still wanted to live there, an arrangement that worked out well for Paul; Siler rented it back from him and took good care of it and everything in it.  Paul had furnished it with expensive toys and gadgets appropriate to his age and rank – a big screen television, a leather couch and matching leather La Z Boy chair, a soothing 40 gallon fish tank.

He'd always thought it a bit tragic that Siler's wife had decided that she didn't want to grow old with him because he never talked about his work, if she were to ever understand what he had been keeping from her, no doubt she would have been a lot more grateful for his silence.

The loss of their infant daughter years earlier hadn't helped, either; if she had lived, she would have been about Cassie's age, Paul realized.  That certainly explained Siler's obvious fondness for the girl.  He quietly doted on her whenever she visited the base; he was always making outrageous balloon animals to make her laugh.  It was a hobby he had taught several of the officers at the SGC, including SG-17's Lieutenant Powers, who had needed a way to keep his hands busy when he'd stopped drinking.

"Aw, come on, you've gotta be kidding me!  Are you blind???!!!" Norman argued vehemently with the official who'd just thrown a flag on the last play.

Their circle had been completed when this particularly avid football fan, Sergeant Norman Davis – the chevron guy, as his friends sometimes teased him – had needed a place to stay, his own apartment having gone condo, at about the same time as Siler's son had decided to go to an expensive, private college out of state.

Paul had been able to split the mortgage payments between himself and the two now roommates, and he himself had a place to stay when he came to town; that he enjoyed their company was just a bonus – when he was in town, the three of them often went skiing in the Colorado mountains; he and Norman always laughed at how much Siler resembled Roger Moore in his ski gear; his dashing figure was not lost on the ladies on the slopes, either – Sly, they called him on those days.

Norman usually courted the taller ones, succeeding more often than not given his level of smarts and penchant for trivia – the King of Obscure Information was another nickname Paul and Siler had given him.  These interludes usually ended when the novelty for one of them wore off, but Norman never seemed to pine for long when that happened.

Norman also had an ironclad rule, a good one, Paul thought, about not dating anyone in the workplace.  Way too much complication, he'd always said, not to mention it was against the regs.  Paul admired his ability to just "shut it off," as he put it, when he went to work.

"Oh yeah, go baby, go!!" Norman yelled, jumping up and down and doing a small victory dance as the secondary for his team du jour ran 92 yards for a touchdown.  Siler and Paul chuckled.  Norman was an excellent dancer and on the rare occasions when they ventured down to Denver to go to the nightclubs, Paul and Siler were always left holding down the table.

The doorbell rang, probably the delivery guy, Paul surmised.

"Hey, it's your turn to ante up, anyway, Normie," Paul teased him, "and you both still owe me fifty each from last night," he said with a superior grin.

"Yeah, yeah," Norman said offhandedly as he paid the ragged looking teenager at the door, tipping him well and taking the food.

Siler carefully brought the La Z Boy up to full attention as the food appeared on the coffee table, Paul slowly got up and brought a fresh round of beers and some paper towels from the kitchen.

As they prepared to dig in, Paul raised his bottle.  "Well, here's to another year, gentlemen; may it be as prosperous and sex-filled as our last."

"Here, here," Siler said.  "And maybe next time you'll even remember her name," he grinned.

"Amen to that," Norman clinked his bottle with the other two, "and don't forget your best SGC pals when you meet her friends," he laughed.

Paul munched his pizza contentedly, his hangover easing with every swallow.  Here with these two, listening to the buzz of the bowl game with Norman's commentary, life was as good as it gets, he thought.


	2. Elsewhere in Colorado Springs Another D...

Author's note – I had a lot of requests to carry on the adventures of the three Stargateateers (haha), and this is the beginning of a cross over, so it helps if you've read "Not Just Another Alien, Part 4…."

Major Paul Davis walked into the house, tossing his uniform hat expertly onto the coat rack.  It landed with a soft thud.  He shrugged out of his coat and uniform jacket, the low, dull, buzz of the big screen television breaking into his thoughts.  Norman was perched on the leather couch watching college basketball, his favorite mania in the football offseason.

"Hey Paul," he managed, eyes not leaving the action on the screen.

"Hey," his sometimes roommate greeted him tiredly.  Paul sauntered into the kitchen.  "Want a beer?" he called as he opened one for himself.

"Nah, thanks, I'm good," Norman managed distractedly.  "DOH!!!  How could you have missed that?" he said in an agitated voice.

Paul grinned at his antics as he made his way to his bedroom, trading in the remainder of his uniform for sweats.

"Where's Sly?" he asked, returning to the living room and settling himself with his beer in the La-Z-Boy.

"He took his kid to dinner," Norman replied in a matter of fact tone of voice.

Paul put his hand up to his mouth.  "You mean the ingrate?" he muttered, fake coughing over the last word.

"Yeah, that's the one," Norman said, a mild note of disgust in his voice.  That Siler's son was somewhat estranged from their friend most of the time unless he needed money was a sore spot for them; Siler was a good guy and didn't deserve that kind of treatment.  Both thought that he was more deserving of a kid like Cassandra Fraiser, who was always happy just to hang out with him at the base, watching him work; it was obvious that she reveled in the way that they made each other laugh.

The door opened then and Siler walked in, slowly hanging up his coat with a sigh.  At the dejected look on his face, Norman and Paul exchanged guilty looks; Siler had made it clear to them in no uncertain terms that his son was not to be an item of discussion for them.

"Hey Sly," they called to him.

"Hey guys," he replied.  He walked in to the living room and looked directly at them.

"There's a problem and it requires your assistance," he said seriously.

Norman and Paul looked at each other curiously.

"Yeah, sure, name it." Paul said.

"Anything you want," Norman added.

Siler took a deep breath.  As soon as Dr. Fraiser had told him the problem at the coffee pot in the cafeteria that morning, he knew what needed to be done, but it might take some convincing to get these two to agree to it.  She hadn't asked him to do anything, just mentioned that a boy had broken a dance date with Cassandra.  He wanted to – no, he needed to make this right for the girl.

"Dr. Fraiser told me about a little problem that I think we're uniquely qualified to resolve."

Now Norman and Paul were intrigued.  Siler took another deep breath.

"Cassandra Fraiser needs a date for her spring dance next month, and you two are perfectly suited for the task."

They stared at him, dumbstruck.  He looked directly at Paul now.

"YOU'RE the goodlooking one," Siler said, now turning his attention to Norman; "and YOU'RE the dancer," he finished.  "I'll be the chauffeur."

Paul and Norman stared at him, completely taken aback at his suggestion.  Paul recovered his senses first.

"Oh, man, Sly, are you sure about this?" he said with a grimace.  "A kid's dance party?"

"If memory serves me correctly, she's not that much younger than the New Year's redhead," Siler said in his matter of fact tone that he used when telling General Hammond that it was absolutely impossible to follow his current order.

Paul grimaced again, but he was quiet.  He looked at Norman for support.  Norman's mouth was still hanging open.  He reached over and took a swig of Paul's beer.

"Uh, have you mentioned any of this to her?  Maybe she doesn't want to go with us old broken down warhorses," Norman offered with a hopeful note.

"That occurred to me," Siler said.  He turned back to Paul.  "That's why I need you to call her and ask her if she'll allow you and Norman to escort her."

"Oh, man – can't I get in trouble for something like that?" Paul asked plaintively, knowing somehow that he was going to lose this point.

Siler sighed heavily and looked down at the floor, running his hand through his light brown hair.  He'd known it was going to be a tough sell, but it really meant a lot to him for some reason; even more now than before the awkward meal he'd shared with his son that evening.

Paul and Norman looked at each other; knowing with a sinking feeling that they were going to do this.  Siler was their friend and didn't ask for too many favors.

_Besides, the three of us together always manage to have fun; this'll be just another opportunity for some amusement,_ Paul decided.  _And Cassie's a good kid; _he added to himself, _it'd be nice to help her out of a jam._

"Oh, alright, ya big lug – you know I can never say no when you bat those baby blues at me," Paul said in a jovial tone.  He got up from the chair and retrieved the portable telephone, bringing it over and sitting down next to Norman on the couch.

"What's the number, big guy?  We've got a date to arrange."

Siler looked up and smiled, grateful in that moment for the true, big-hearted nature of his roommates.

*************************************************

The number on the telephone was blocked, so she couldn't tell who it was.

"Hello?" Cassandra answered the phone curiously.

"Cassandra – Cassie?" the male voice on the other end asked curiously.

"Yes, this is Cassie."

Paul took a deep breath.  "Cassie, this is Major and Sergeant Davis.  We heard that there was a dance at the school next month, and we were really hoping you'd let us go with you.  Sly says he'll drive," Paul added with a grin at his friend.

There was no response on the other end.

"Cassie, are you there?" Paul asked, wondering for a brief moment if she thought it was a prank call.

"Uh, yes, Major Davis, I'm here," Cassie said, sounding completely awestruck.

"Well?  What do you think?" he continued, the barest hint of excitement in his voice now.  "Will you do us the honor of letting us escort you?" he said in a tone he hadn't take advantage of since before he had come to the SGC.  It always worked on the Washington women; strangely, he found himself crossing his fingers that it would do its magic one more time.

Cassie smiled to herself.  It would take her some time to figure out just how her mother and Jonas had managed this, and she knew her friend Sergeant Siler had suggested it to him, but she was grateful in any case.  Major Davis _was_ handsome, and she really liked Sergeant Davis, too.  This was a better alternative than that offered by Jennifer Hailey, who said she'd get Lieutenant Gibson to take her, and Sam's suggestion that they could track down young Colonel O'Neill to go with her.  She _knew_ these guys.

It would be a bit embarrassing to show up with all of these adults, but it gave her a wonderful, warm feeling that they were so willing to help her out of what she thought was an insurmountable problem.  Her mother and Jonas had been right again; everything works out as it should.

"I'd like that," she said sincerely.

"So, it's a date!  We'll see you at 7:00 that night," Paul said with a cocky grin at his roommates.

He returned the phone to its rightful place.  "Lock and load, gentlemen," he said triumphantly as he turned back to face them.

"Hey, I wouldn't get too good at that with a girl her age if I were you," Norman stated warningly, an impish grin on his face.

Siler smiled.  "Thanks guys; you're doing the right thing."

The basketball game halftime report was on; Norman turned his full attention to his roommates again.

"Hey, just what did you mean, 'he's the good looking one'?" he asked Siler, feigning insult.

Siler grinned widely now.  "Don't sweat it, Normie; one look at those twinkle toes of yours and they'll all be a-swooning…"


	3. Not Just Another Military Day in Colorad...

Confused by the title? Just about the whole darn gang is here…and all three story lines represented, at various points in time…but it works!! Or at least, I think it does – please let me know what YOU think!

Many thanks to Cathain for her fashion and young person's advice for this, and to the wonderful people who have encouraged me and have told me how much they've liked this J

Enjoy! (I hope!)

As he straightened the honors on his jacket, and adjusted his hat, Major Paul Davis found himself actually looking forward to the evening ahead, even if it was just escorting a teenager to a dance.

He knew he cut a sharp figure in his dress blues and it always gave him a sense of pride when younger people showed him a certain amount of respect simply by virtue of the uniform itself.

The uniform reminded him again of his duty and his choice of service to the country they lived in. It filled him with a sense of purpose, and that some people showed obvious disrespect did not bother him; whether they realized it or not, they were as much in need of the protection the SGC and the rest of the military services offered as those who did respect it.

Besides, he pragmatically advised himself, the country was built on the concept that you could choose to show reverence or not; it would still be here.

He walked out into the living room, Norman and Siler were likewise decked out.

"Now, ya see, fellas, if we'd ALL shown up at O'Malley's like this on New Year's, there might have been a much more interesting story to forget the next day," he chided them jovially.

"If we'd all shown up at O'Malley's like this on New Year's, it's more likely we would have gotten our collective asses kicked," Norman deadpanned, grinning.

Although she saw them on a daily basis, Janet still found it a bit thrilling when the three men drove up in the black Mercedes that served as a military transport vehicle and came walking up the drive in their very best dress blues. For her role as one of the chaperones, Janet was also in uniform, crisp and neat as was her style.

"Cassie, your dates are here," she called up the stairs.

Jonas sat patiently in the living room, enjoying the atmosphere of quiet excitement and anticipation that this event was generating. He was dressed in a pair of black denims with the white collarless dress shirt and charcoal gray dress jacket that he preferred for this type of occasion; he liked it because he got the distinct impression that the combination had a certain favorable effect on the doctor's senses.

But it was Cassie's appearance that caused them all to smile warmly as she descended the stairs. The dress she wore was perfectly fitted, displaying her emerging teenage figure beautifully; the bodice melded seamlessly to the full-length skirt that draped gracefully to the floor. Dainty spaghetti straps came up over her shoulders, crossing and becoming part of an open, criss-cross pattern in back.

It was an incredible shade of dark blue taffeta that matched the uniforms perfectly, a lucky break since she'd initially picked it to match Dominic's eyes. The color also offset the tawny highlights in her auburn hair, which she had pulled back in a ponytail; it gave her delicately made up young face a simple, yet elegant look.

Siler had remembered that such affairs usually called for corsages, the ones worn on the wrist being the preferred variety, the kindly florist had suggested to him. The simple white flowers looked lovely against the warm tone of her skin.

"Well, we should really get going; the chaperones are supposed to be early," Jonas said.

Norman and Paul, in synchronized fashion, turned and each offered Cassie an arm.

"Shall we?" they said in unison.

She smiled demurely and slid one arm each around theirs and they proceeded down the drive to the car.

"Shotgun," she said playfully as they got closer.

"DOH!" Paul said lightheartedly. "I was gonna call it," he said with a mock whine.

They were at the car now, and Norman reached for the front passenger door. "As the lady wishes," he said, bowing low with a flourish of his hand as he opened the door for her.

When they arrived at the school gymnasium, Paul and Norman each took their respective places at Cassie's side again, and escorted her into the gym. Siler followed closely behind, his tall, quiet presence adding a touch of intrigue to the group.

There was a table for four at the nearest corner of the dance floor, in the middle of the large room; Jonas had surreptitiously kept several other people away from it while he waited for them to arrive. Janet was intrigued by the ease with which he managed this, with his disarming grin and charming ways easily convincing the kids they didn't want that table, anyway.

As the group took their seats, the music began. The band was composed of a girl and three guys who appeared to be in their twenties, and their style of dress was a strong tribute to bands of the 80's; they called themselves The One Hit Wonders.

"Come on, Cassie, let's warm the place up a bit," Norman Davis said as he grabbed her hand and started to draw her out on the dance floor.

Cassie hesitated slightly. Norman looked at her; she was biting her lip. He smiled warmly at her.

"It's okay," he said encouragingly. "I'll show you," he said, proceeding confidently toward the floor, as the mullet haired lead guitarist began belting out the words to a cover of JET's single, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?"

Cassie took a breath, and followed. She knew that Sergeant Davis was quite a talented dancer; she was afraid she would look clumsy next to him. She still wasn't quite sure how to do this, though it always looked like fun; on occasion, her mother and Jonas would take an impromptu turn in their own living room and they looked wonderful together.

She was nervous, too, about being the first person on the dance floor; when they had walked in together, several heads had turned at the sight of the attractive foursome. As they had entered, she had instantly noticed Dominic, at a table in the back; what had further caught her eye was the absence of any female companion.

Instead of Cheryl, he was sitting with a bunch of other boys from their class. A part of Cassie noted that he was the best looking one among them, dressed in a well fitting blue suit that set off his jet black hair and dark blue eyes.

He had looked over at her as she had come in with her military contingent, but she pretended not to notice, although she couldn't help realizing that they would have looked nice together; the blues that they had individually chosen would have paired well. She was also vaguely aware of Ben and Judy at another table beyond that, and a saucy feeling had come over her as Ben's mouth fell open when he saw her.

On the dance floor now, Norman began expertly moving his feet; he quietly encouraged Cassie with a few gentle instructions and suggestions. She concentrated on following his directions and lead; she wasn't even aware of her fellow students around her, who were somewhat in awe of the abilities that she and Sergeant Davis exhibited.

Back at the table, Siler and Paul watched, exchanging knowing smiles; Twinkle Toes was at it again. Several other students and some of the teachers were keenly observing the two of them; Norman would have no problem finding willing dance partners the rest of the evening, if Cassie wanted to share. She looked wonderful as she relaxed and found her groove under Norman's patient, talented guidance.

_This Ben kid is either one really stupid young man,_ Paul thought, _or this Judy chick must be one hell of a looker._ As this last thought wandered across his questioning mind, the briefest image of the New Year's redhead appeared; Paul banished the thought to the farthest reaches of his brain.

Siler sat up suddenly and what Paul would call an evil grin crossed his face.

"Now we know why they set the show in Colorado," he said in his low, quiet tone of voice as he looked away from a couple of the teachers, gesturing at them with his thumb on the table ever so slightly.

Paul looked over as clandestinely as possible; luckily, the hapless science teacher was deeply engaged in a conversation with the even more hapless French teacher.

He was immediately struck by the strong resemblance between Mr. Harwood, the science teacher and Mr. Garrison, the fourth grade teacher from the South Park show. The French teacher also looked suspiciously like she could have been a model for Ms. Choksondik.

Paul struggled to gulp back his laughter at the dead-pan look on Siler's face; it was just like him to notice a detail like that.

The animated show was a guilty pleasure that the three of them shared. Though they were all far older than the target demographic, Siler had started watching it as a way to have something to discuss with his estranged son, and the resulting stress relief that they had all experienced while watching it had made it something of a ritual in their house.

Now Siler was on a roll; they didn't call him Sly for no reason – the burst of laughter from his friend had spurred him on, and he began doing impressions of the teachers, his ability to imitate the voices of both the South Park characters as well as Mr. Burns and Otto from The Simpsons further fueled Paul's uncontrolled giggling.

As Siler slid easily into expertly quoting dialogue from some of their more favorite episodes, perfectly fitting the lip movements and actions of the teachers and other adults scattered around the gymnasium, Paul could not contain himself. Within a matter of minutes, he was laughing so hard that he had tears coming down his face.

Siler looked as if he had no idea what had come over his friend. Paul realized how this must look to the crowd around them; he, a senior officer in the United States Air Force and theoretically an adult, practically in tears at the antics of his comrade in arms.

Paul stood up from the table; a slow, satisfied grin coming across Siler's face at the fact that he had once again reduced the officer to complete hysterics.

"Okay, I've _got_ to get away from you," Paul spluttered, still giggling helplessly, wiping his eyes. He looked over at Cassie and Norman; they were having quite a time. The band began to play a slower piece now. Paul walked over to the couple and tapped Norman on the shoulder.

"May I have this dance with the lady?" he asked graciously, with a small bow towards her.

"By all means, sir, if it pleases her" Norman replied jovially, grinning at Cassie as he took a step back.

Paul stepped easily into the space vacated by Norman, sliding his arm expertly around her while he respectfully took her other hand and led her in a slow waltz. Though he paled in comparison to Norman, he could manage this much.

"So, you're having a good time, eh, Major Davis?" Cassie asked in a sly tone of voice. She had noticed him laughing and knew perfectly well what Sergeant Siler was capable of in the uncontrollable giggle department.

He smiled at her. "Well, it seems like you and Sergeant Davis were having a pretty good time, too; I couldn't let him have ALL the fun, now, could I?" he said with a grin.

He looked over her head now; it had been inescapable the way that Dominic had been staring at her, with a classic lost puppy dog look in his eyes. If he weren't a high school kid, Paul thought, he could easily be accused of being a stalker.

"You know, that young man over there seems quite smitten with you," Paul said innocently, inclining his head ever so slightly in Dominic's direction. "Do I need to have him checked out?"

"Let him look," Cassie said with just the slightest hint of anger in her voice.

"Do you know him?" Paul asked, continuing his unaware air. He was surprised the bright young girl hadn't already figured out what he knew about the whole situation; Jonas had filled them in on the details as best he knew them.

"I thought I did," Cassie said, with just a hint of regret in her voice.

"Oh, now, that sounds like what women say when a guy does something stupid," Paul said lightly. "What did he do?"

"Nothing, really, it's just that, we had an argument," Cassie said, looking down. "I don't even remember what it was about any more," she said slowly.

"Well, it's been my experience that most arguments aren't worth remembering."

Cassie bit her lip as she took in this sage piece of advice. Paul smiled; he was on familiar ground here.

"I suppose that's true," she said quietly.

The music ended then, and the band went on a break. Paul and Cassie walked back towards the table to join Siler and Norman.

"Well, I'm going to try some of that scary red stuff they're calling punch here; anybody else want some?" Paul asked. He wasn't really thirsty, but he had a plan. The air in the gym was warm now and his friends readily accepted his offer to get drinks for them.

Paul walked over to the table where the punch was ladled into small plastic cups for the taking, carefully skirting to the end where the young man was standing against the wall.

As he waited for his turn at the table, he casually addressed Dominic.

"She looks nice, doesn't she?"

Dominic looked up at him now, startled. "Yeah, she really does," he replied, with a dreamy, far away sound to his voice.

"You've been watching her since she came in; why didn't you ask her yourself?" Paul asked him, using his authoritative voice, the one that inevitably got him answers when he asked a question.

"I wanted to," Dominic said, somewhat miserably. "But then we had a fight."

"Yeah, that can really put the kabash on things like a date," Paul said in an understanding tone. "You know the argument was probably your fault, right? I mean, let's face it, they always think it's our fault, anyway, so if we ever want to get anywhere we might as well just say it's our fault and get on with it," he said, sliding easily into his man-to-man voice, as if he and Dominic were old pals.

"Funny thing is, I don't even remember what the argument was about," Dominic said, with a puzzled look on his face.

"Well, it's been my experience that most arguments aren't worth remembering. I've also learned that most women like to hear it when you think they look nice," Paul said smoothly.

Dominic pondered this statement, as Paul got up to the punch table.

"Hey, do you think you could give an old Air Force guy a hand with these cups?" Paul asked. He didn't wait for an answer, just indicated the two glasses on the table with his head and the two in his hand.

_Another benefit of the uniform,_ he thought to himself; the look on Dominic's face was that same sort of questioning look that many civilians got, most would simply obey and follow without question. He had a suspicion that it was just the opening the young man was looking for, anyway.

They proceeded back towards the table as the band came back from its break and began one of those songs that was too fast for slow dancing and too slow for fast dancing – tailor made for a break in the action and to showcase the female lead singer's talents.

Across the gymnasium, Jonas smiled as he watched the scene unfolding. He admired Major Davis' covert techniques where things of this nature were concerned.

He and Janet were working as a team in their chaperone roles; as Jonas noticed certain kids doing things that were not in line with the rules set forth by the school administration, Janet briskly took action.

He grinned as he watched her putting out cigarettes and separating some couples who were too close for anyone's public comfort. Her every day job made this sort of activity look like a day in the park; if any of these kids thought she was being tough now, they had ought to talk to some of the airmen she handled daily, Jonas thought, immensely enjoying watching her in action.

Cassie's breath caught in her throat as Dominic handed her one of the glasses he had carried at Paul's behest.

"Hi Cassie."

"Hi Dominic," she said, trying to keep the nervous waver out of her voice. "Thanks," she added sincerely, as she took the offered refreshment. She wasn't quite ready to kiss and make up just yet, though.

"Where's Cheryl?" she asked innocently.

"She got back together with Greg; they went skiing this weekend," Dominic replied in a matter of fact tone.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Cassie felt a twinge of awkward embarrassment for having asked the question, mixed with a feeling of empathy; it was exactly what had happened to her with Ben.

"Oh, that's okay, it's better this way, anyway." It wasn't quite what he meant, but it was close.

Paul was motioning slightly at him; he looked up. The officer was mouthing the word "nice"; Dominic picked up on the hint.

"You look very nice tonight, Cassie," he declared, as sincerely as he'd ever said anything in his young life.

She smiled at him now, touched at his words and the earnest tone with which they were delivered.

"Thank you," she responded demurely.

The words of the song now being sung drifted through the air on the smooth, dulcet tones of the lead singer. 

_Never seen a sky so blue  
I've never been happy with anyone  
Like I am when I'm with you  
Look at the sun shining up in the sky  
I feel a little closer to heaven, baby  
When I'm looking into your eyes  
  
And as long as we're together, boy  
I'm sitting on top of the world  
Wanna feel this way forever, boy  
I'm sitting on top of the world  
  
Last night I lay in the dark  
Tryin' to figure it out  
Tryin' to talk to my heart  
But now it's morning and I still don't know why  
All I know is that you got me feeling so good  
All I know is that it feels the way that true love should  
Ain't no one luckier than you and I  
  
And as long as we're together, boy  
I'm sitting on top of the world  
Wanna feel this way forever, boy  
I'm sitting on top of the world  
  
And everybody's got an opinion 'bout how this should be  
But they don't understand it  
No, no they just can't see  
That I belong with you and baby baby  
Baby, you belong with me_

_And as long as we're together, boy  
I'm sitting on top of the world  
Wanna feel this way forever, boy  
I'm sitting on top of the world_

Dominic shifted his weight from one foot to the other as the song trailed off. "Well, I should probably get back to the guys," he said, not sure what else to say at that moment. He smiled at Cassie, looking repeatedly over his shoulder at her as he went back to his table.

Sam shrugged into her jacket, shutting the locker door. As she made her way out of the complex, she stopped at the open door of the lab; Jennifer was concentrating on an experiment. Sam found herself impressed again with the dedication the young officer had to the work that they were doing.

"Good evening, Lieutenant," she greeted her smoothly.

Jennifer jumped, startled out of her analytical reverie. She quickly stood up off the stool. "Good evening, Major," she replied, saluting.

"Lieutenant, I was just heading to town to see if I can sneak a peek at the school dance," Sam said in what she hoped was a casual tone. "Would you like to ride down with me?"

Jennifer smiled, touched at the offer. She looked at the experiment she was working on; it was a good time to stop and gather her thoughts. _Major Carter might have an idea or two about it, anyway,_ she thought to herself.

"Ma'am, that would be a fine idea, ma'am."

As they rode together, Jennifer carefully explained the current problem she was having with the experiment.

Sam listened quietly, and offered Jennifer a couple of alternatives that she could consider trying. She resisted the urge to dictate what should be done; the junior officer was becoming an accomplished scientist and didn't need to be told _how_ to do things. Secretly, Sam was pleased that Jennifer had asked for her input.

The dance was beginning to wrap up; Norman had spent the balance of the evening showcasing his talents with a wide variety of partners, teachers and some of Cassie's friends among them. Paul and Siler took turns giving Cassie a twirl on the floor, and she danced a bit with some of her girlfriends too.

Jonas and Janet watched from their post along the back wall, exchanging the occasional smile at what had turned out to be an enjoyable evening for them all. Janet had been right again, Jonas thought. He was more than a little surprised at how busy they had been throughout the evening; he found himself relieved that it was almost over.

Suddenly he grinned widely.

"What?" the diminutive doctor asked him, still on full chaperone alert.

"I think there's been a change in the wind tonight," he said, gesturing ever so slightly with a nod of his head in the direction of the table where Cassie sat with Major Davis and Sergeants Siler and Davis.

Janet followed his line of sight; she felt an inexplicable surge of excitement at the sight of Dominic approaching the table.

"Sirs?"

They looked up suddenly at the sound of the teenaged mixed pitch voice; it was Dominic. Paul heard Cassie draw a breath from the seat next to him. The boy was looking from Paul to Norman, then back.

"Yes?" Paul answered. His rank usually caused he and his roommates to automatically assume it was him that was being addressed. They knew that uniforms had that effect on people; they addressed them as sir regardless of their true rank.

"May I request the honor of the last dance with Cassie?"

Paul, Norman and Siler exchanged a knowing glance; then they looked at Cassie.

"Well, Cassie, it's really up to you – what do you say?" Paul asked her with a smile. The warm look in his handsome brown eyes told Cassie this was a good thing; she would not soon forget their kindness that evening.

"I'd like that," she answered quietly, fixing her eyes on Dominic. He held out his hand to her, she took it as she rose from the chair.

Jonas and Janet watched from their post against the wall. As Dominic took Cassie's hand and led her to the dance floor, they exchanged knowing smiles with the three gentlemen who'd come to her rescue.

Paul grinned at his compatriots. _Mission accomplished,_ he thought happily.

Jonas turned to Janet. All night he'd been watching her tap her feet; he felt an urge to liberate her considerable dance talents.

"It's the last dance, doc," Jonas said, with the warm smile that made him irresistibly attractive. "May I have the honor?" he asked.

Janet hesitated. She loved to dance and so rarely got an opportunity, except for the occasional impromptu twirl around their living room when good music was on the television or the radio. She already knew firsthand that Jonas was a wonderful dancer, but here, in the school gymnasium, they would be seen by people who knew them.

She looked around and noticed that several of the chaperones were also dancing, some with their spouses and others with their co-workers. She took a deep breath, and reminded herself that no one else would actually know what she was feeling when he took her in his arms.

"I'd like that," she replied, as she put her hand in his; an electric tingle raced over her at his touch.

Jonas led Janet to the nearest corner of the dance floor, a dark area close to the outside door so they would not be too obtrusive. He held her at a respectful distance for a slow dance; after all, they were chaperones and needed to set the right example, regardless of what the kids themselves were actually engaging in. 

The words of the song were audible now; as she heard them, Janet thought they described her own feelings pretty accurately.

Lost inside this angeltown  
Lost like I could not be found  
No connections of the heart  
Love was glass that broke apart  
Gimme faith in dreams  
And someone to hold  
Gimme love 'cause I'm out here in the cold  
There are no secrets  
No angels at my door  
  
And oh, when you touch my hand  
I fall from grace  
And oh, when you reach for me  
I fall from grace

I fall from grace

Arriving at the high school, Sam guided the car towards the back parking lot, and she and Jennifer furtively made their way to the back door of the gymnasium, one side of which stood partially open. Several people were already gathered there; curious parents who had been ordered by their children to stay away but whose curiosity prompted this stealth tactic.

As they made their way towards the door, the crowd parted, some out of respect for their uniformed presence, some for fear that their own presence would be detected by their offspring inside.

The dance was nearly over; Sam and Jennifer heard the band announce the last song as they got closer to the door. Peering in, they spied Cassie in a close embrace with Dominic as they swayed to the music.

Cassie's strong, naquadah enhanced instincts picked up that they were there. She looked over towards the door and saw them, giving them a warm, contented smile as she moved slowly in Dominic's arms.

As the young dancers swirled out of sight, the two women smiled at each other; it had all worked out. Sam felt a warm sense of kinship with the younger woman at that moment, the fondness Jennifer had for Cassie obvious on her pretty face.

_No better time than the present, Samantha Carter,_ she thought to herself. Her curiosity had been piqued ever since Jack had showed up in her lab one night with a huge grin to tell her that Daniel had casually mentioned he was going to make dinner for Jennifer's birthday some time back.

"Lieutenant, may I ask you a personal question?"

Jennifer swallowed hard, the hairs on her neck rising at this request from the senior officer. She braced herself.

"Ma'am, yes ma'am," she answered, leveling her steely eyed gaze at the major.

A curious, mischievous gleam appeared in Sam's eyes. "I know that Daniel – I mean Dr. Jackson – had planned to make you dinner for your birthday recently…but if his mission cooking is any indication of his abilities in the kitchen…" Sam left the last sentence dangling, grinning, hoping that Jennifer would fill in the details.

Jennifer let her breath out, smiling; it was yet another tender of friendship from the senior officer.

"Well, ma'am, to tell you the truth, it was absolutely perfect. It was one of the best meals I've ever had." _Not to mention dessert,_ Jennifer thought to herself, a tingle coming over her at the memory of that evening, their first together as lovers.

Sam smiled warmly, a pleasantly surprised look on her face. "Really. Well, that's great, Lieutenant," she said evenly, managing to keep the shock out of her voice.

Jennifer fixed her with another one of her gazes; there was merriment behind her dark eyes this time.

"Yes ma'am, I imagine that Waiters on Wheels has saved more than one man from his own kitchen," she stated in a matter of fact tone of voice, trying to hide the superior grin this reminder always elicited.

Sam chuckled knowingly; silently deciding that this detail would be kept to herself when she reported the happy outcome of the birthday evening to Colonel O'Neill the next time she saw him.

They stood looking through the open gymnasium door for another minute.

"Hey, whaddya make of that, Lieutenant?" Sam said with a grin, nudging Jennifer, indicating with a nod of her head the sight of Jonas and Janet slow dancing together.

Jennifer giggled conspiratorially. "I don't know, ma'am; quite frankly, in light of their current arrangement, I'm not sure how she manages to keep her hands to herself every day," she said seriously, a note of mock wonder in her voice.

Sam choked back a hearty chortle at this uncharacteristically brazen assessment of Jonas from the younger officer, though she strongly agreed with Jennifer on this point. The heads of a few of the teacher chaperones turned sharply at the sound.

As he guided her in slow circles around their corner of the floor, Jonas smiled at how happy Janet looked. The words of the song the band was crooning seemed particularly descriptive of how he felt at that moment.

Lost inside this angeltown  
Lost like I could not be found  
No connections of the heart  
Love was glass that broke apart  
Gimme faith in dreams  
And someone to hold  
Gimme love 'cause I'm out here in the cold  
There are no secrets  
No angels at my door  
  
And oh, when you touch my hand  
I fall from grace  
And oh, when you reach for me  
I fall from grace

_She's so beautiful,_ he thought to himself. He wanted to pull her close in his arms, to kiss her as he had on occasion before, but in this situation, surrounded by Cassie and her friends and teachers and by several of their own colleagues, that would have been tantamount to shouting his feelings for her from the top of the Cheyenne complex; he was fairly certain she wasn't ready for that yet.

The music ended and the dancers parted, saving Jonas further contemplation on this point for the moment.

As the music came to an end, the dancers parting from their embraces and preparing to leave, the crowd around the two on-lookers outside dissipated.

"Guess that's our cue, too. Should we go?" Sam asked.

Jennifer turned and looked her in the eye. She took a deep breath.

"It's late and the base is a bit out of your way, Major Carter. If you wanted to drop me at Dr. Jackson's place instead, ma'am, I don't think he'd mind driving me back," she finished.

Sam was charmed at what was obviously a trusting admission on her part; she sensed that, if she did drop Jennifer off at the Victorian, there would be no barracks for the young officer that night.

"Okay, that sounds like a plan, Lieutenant," she replied with a warm smile and just the hint of a knowing twinkle in her eye.


End file.
